Ok. Realistically, trying to keep a blog chronicling Emerson's first year might have been a little overly ambitious. She will be 10 months old in about two weeks and I swear I'm just now getting to the point where I can brush my teeth and take a shower every day (I swear that's not a statement on my overall approach to personal hygiene) Everyone tells you how quickly the time passes... all the time. When you tell them you have a baby, the first thing they say is "careful, you blink and they're grown". As tired as I am of hearing that exact statement, it is in fact, very true.
So, what is new with Emerson? Where to begin. The short answer is, EVERYTHING is new with Emerson, every single day. Let's see, she's working on her vocabulary. Her first word, much to Hunter's eternal elation was "dah-dee". That was quickly followed by essentially everything but "Mama". She says "kitty kitty", "Nana", "Granddaddy" and "grass". She did finally say 'Mama', but she usually reserves it for when she's really really upset. Most of the time she just walks around the house saying 'Da da da da da DAH DEE!!!" Don't worry, I'm not taking it personally. I'm sure it I'll forget all about it and it will never come up again. Hmpfh.
She's completely obsessed with walking but she's also on the slight side, so her little legs aren't quite ready for what she's trying to make them do. However, when I say obsessed, I mean it. If you've ever seen Hunter put his mind to passing an exam or learning a new song on his guitar, then you know her exact expression. She refuses to sit, kneel, lay down, or assume any position other than standing. She just wants to stand up. All the time. Standing. This week, she mastered stepping (with a little help) and bouncing. Crawling, on the other hand, not only is she not interested, I would go as far as to say she's disdainful of the entire concept.
In terms of personality, I'm trying to find the right word to describe it. She's incredibly independent and insists on doing everything herself but she wants to make absolutely certain that she has a captive audience at all times. She's also got a very coy, mischevious sense of humor. She's on a big "call and response" kick right now where she'll look at us and shout "GAHHHH!!!!" at the top of her lungs, we respond in kind and go back and forth for a few minutes until she tires of this game and moves on to something else. She waits until you've turned your attention elsewhere, cuts her eyes at you, smiles and then screams out of the blue "GAHHHH!!!!!" hoping to catch you off guard and start the thing over again.
Food is still pretty much her favorite thing on earth and there's really nothing she won't eat. Pumpkin oatmeal is still her absolute favorite although we introduced Cheerio's last week and that's been a big hit. She's a very vocal eater and groans of delight and an unending chorus of "Mmmmm" extends the entire duration of every single meal.
She has FINALLY started sleeping through the night most nights, thanks to my once again, starving myself of my primary food group (that would be caffeine). It's amazing what the love of a child can make you do, although it has dawned on me that whether she's waking up every three hours or I'm ordering quad decaf latte's I end up being exhausted either way, so I'm struggling with the futility of this endeavor.
Let's see, what else? She's a love! She's sweet and gentle and she has the most beautiful 6 toothed smile I have ever seen in my life. Her hair is coming in (still red) and partially curly. I love imagining what it will look like when she's older. She loves baths as much as she ever did, especially now that she has discovered the joy of completely soaking Hunter. She loves being outdoors and feeling the wind (or lately snow) on her face in a way that can only be described as tangible grace. She is the light of our lives and I can't wait for you to see her again.
This is a rather two dimensional blog, but I felt the need to catch you up on the big things. I hope (HOPE) to provide a few more anecdotal entries about shenanigans and motherhood before her first birthday (which is in something like 9 weeks!!!!!!!)
In the meantime, we have posted many videos and some more pictures since my last post. Please feel free to check them out! We love you!!!
